An Angel's Wings
by SecretlyADemon
Summary: Ember was following a trail left by those she suspected kidnapped her father and killed her mother, to Fortuna Island. Upon arriving, she had thought she had come to terms with her heritage, but then she met a half-demon that seemed to awaken something within her every time she felt his power, and it didn't like her close proximity to him. But what if she did? NeroxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this has been an idea that's been stuck in my head a while now, and I was debating on publishing it or not, mostly 'cause I want to focus on my story in the -man fandom, but I thought what the heck, might as well start it. With that being said, my other story is my first priority, but I will still publish this one, just not on as regular of a basis. I've also seen some NeroxOC stories, but not enough to satisfy me ;) hence me writing my own. Wanted to try my hand at it. Tell me how I do, I'm not sure I keep the characters in character all the time, so if you notice any OOCness, please point it out.**

**This is taking place during DMC4, but some events might turn out a little differently, but the whole Savior incident will still occur as in the game. After that, I get to have fun with the plot I concocted :) Also, it's not a reader being thrust into the game story, my character is from within the world of DMC already and has her own past and all that fun stuff. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy :)**

**Warning: Rated T for swearing and violence.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DMC, only my OCs and the plot later in the story. **

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**"To believe in that which is 'evil' is to fear it. To believe in that which is 'good' and 'holy' is to want to be it. When one fears something, they want to disassociate themselves from it as much as possible, but when someone revers something, they strive to be like it. And that is where ultimate corruption of humankind lies."-Anonymous**

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Ember's POV

Nero was late again. Would it kill him to be on time for one of the gatherings? I swear he was going to end up giving Kyrie heart failure one of these days. Didn't he remember how happy she had been to be selected to sing for the Festival of the Sword? Of all people I thought he would be the one to be on time for this thing. I didn't want to be here either, but like a good friend, I was here for Kyrie.

She noticed too, as the opening chords of the song began. She glanced over in my direction, eyes focusing on me briefly-to which I smiled encouragingly at her-then to the vacant seat beside me. Her expression fell quite considerably, though she quickly tried to cover it, as to not let her audience catch on. When it was her queue, she began to sing. She truly was a good singer. I couldn't think of anyone better to sing for such an occasion, though the point of the festival was lost on me, even though I'd been here for just over a year or so now. Though I did know that they had a great love for swords. My father would be content with _that_ knowledge at least.

She was finishing her song when my back began to burn. I rolled my shoulders to ease the ache when the bench jostled and the faint sound of a rock song hit my ears. Nero decided to show up after all. Good timing he has…

"You took your time," I murmured irritably to him, gazing accusingly at him from the corner of my eye.

Nero turned towards me, smirking, "Why? Miss me?"

I rolled my eyes flipping him the bird.

"Not in a church," he chastised, mockingly.

I repeated the gesture. "It's an opera house, dumbass."

The guy to my left turned towards us with a glare and a harsh, "Shh!"

In unison, Nero and I turned to the man, both glaring at him. Without another word, the man focused his attention back on Kyrie, ignoring us. Though he shifted somewhat uncomfortably. Smart man.

The song ended, leaving the large room in silence for a moment, while everyone absorbed what had just been sung. Then simultaneously, the crowd broke out in applause, and I joined them, glad to see Kyrie finally smiling. Even if she was smiling in Nero's direction. Was I the only one who realized she was smitten?

She left the stage shortly after, to put her sash and crown away before joining the crowd. During that time, the priest "His Holiness" began to preach to us.

"Here we go," I muttered, slouching in the bench, putting my arms behind my head in an attempt to get comfortable, and prepare myself for a nap that was sure to follow.

From the corner of my eye, I kept tabs on Kyrie's approach to us, a smile never leaving her face. She paused beside us, grinning down at Nero. Being the jerk that he was, he simply turned his head away, pulling his headphone over his ear with his left hand. I elbowed him in the side. The least he could do was be nice to the girl after arriving when she was almost done singing. Alas, he discreetly shoved me back with his slinged arm. I fought back the urge to shove back. While I knew that his arm wasn't actually paralyzed, no one else did. Nero had been adamant about keeping its recovery hidden. I didn't fight him about it at the time, nor did I ask why, though I had sensed something…inhuman about it.

My eye twitched at his lack of manners, but then a thin, blue rectangular box caught my eye. Focusing more intently on the object, I noticed that was in fact, a small gift. I looked away sharply, the corner of my mouth falling before I chastised myself. I wasn't here to worry myself with petty emotions and get too attached. I was here to find information about my father and get out and maybe extract revenge if necessary, though I liked to hope that it wouldn't come to that. Having my ugly, green monster rear its head at the fact that Nero got her a gift and not me was a ridiculous notion. Besides, the boy did nothing but grate my nerves every day.

From deep within me, something stirred, a presence I had long since accepted, but denied. I could feel its silent, almost hesitant disagreement.

I quickly stamped on it, forcing it back into the dark corner of my mind.

The bench jostled slightly again, throwing me off guard as Nero stood. I glared up at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm leaving. I'm falling asleep."

"That's rich coming from the guy who wasn't even here from the beginning. God, did you never learn any manners? Oh, wait. You didn't."

Nero frowned down at me, before his gaze abruptly shifted to his arm, the same time my back began to burn again. What the hell was it this time?

"Nero, what's wrong?" Kyrie asked, standing to grab his arm gently.

She never got a response. The glass dome over head was broken with a crash and a man clad in red fell down, landing in front of "His Holiness." There was a moment of stunned silence, as if everything and everyone was frozen. The man quickly drew a gun, and fired, making "His Holiness" quite literally, holey. The bang broke the spell. The citizens in the crowd were instantly frantic, trying to flee, while the knights present went on the offensive. The man stood, and turned, overseeing the ruckus, with the priest's blood painting his face. His gaze stopped in our direction, pausing to look at Nero then myself. His attention was drawn elsewhere when Kyrie's brother led an attack by the knights present with a cry of, "Your Holiness!"

The white haired man regarded them calmly, even as the horde of them charged after him. He simply pulled the sword from behind his back in front of him, and jumped into the fray, all but hacking the knights to pieces.

I watched the fight in front of me in a sick wonder. The man was most definitely skilled in the art of battle. I'd almost venture to say that he would pose a challenge to me. It had been so long since I got a challenge. Being forced to act like an innocent woman who didn't know how to fight at all definitely reduced my odds. But now, with the opera house mostly empty, I could actually get some fun.

Kyrie's hand grasped mine, trying to pull me along with her as she was dragged away by Nero, but I let my fingers slip from her grasp. I was not going to let this man run away before I got a chance to fight him. Who knew when I'd get the chance again? He wasn't going to be killed that was for sure.

"Ember!" Kyrie protested, her arm still extended in my direction as Nero pulled her away. I ignored her. How to join the fight? Perhaps take one of the dead knight's swords? Perhaps change one of the pews into a bow and arrow set? That would draw his attention towards me… I would have to keep an eye on his gun. That would be a bitch to try and dodge. Not impossible though.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nero snapped in my ear. When did he get there? Wasn't he dragging Kyrie away from the danger?

I ignored him too, though Nero's exclamation drew the red clad man's attention briefly. His eyes passed by Nero to land on me, watching me apprehensively as he continued to take down the dwindling knights. I returned his gaze, with my own calculating one. I sure as hell wasn't going to jump into a fight without assessing the situation first.

Seeming to notice the white haired man's attention on me, Nero struggled harder to keep my attention. He roughly grabbed my arm, pulling me away. I pulled my arm free, ignoring the burning sensation the action caused. I was still focused on the skilled fighter in front of me. But he was no longer focused on me, instead his back was towards me and he was advancing on Credo, who had rushed to the priest's side.

"Credo!" Kyrie cried.

I thought Nero got her to safety. That was the reason why he came for me wasn't it? Once he was sure she was safe.

Kyrie being the foolish girl that she was, ran mindlessly towards the assassin. I stood, prepared to stop her. However, she was knocked to the ground by a knight who tried to attack the red clad man from behind. She fell to the ground, looking up to see said man before her.

My mind shut off. I couldn't let Kyrie die. Nero would be heart broken. My muscles tensed, and I ran, just as Nero called out, "Kyrie!" Then my disappearance registered in his brain and he called out my name too. But it was too late, even as he rushed after me. I used my enhanced speed to increase my momentum as I fell, sliding and knocking out the assassin's legs out from underneath him. My increased speed ensured that I wasn't fallen on. I stood as soon as my attack was carried out and rushed to Kyrie's side.

"Get out of here," I told her, gripping her shoulders. "Go with your brother and Nero and get-" I cut off when I saw Kyrie's eyes widen and my back burn more harshly. In seconds, I pushed her backwards and threw myself to the side out of harm's way, making it appear as if Kyrie was the one who pushed me. The sword swung harmlessly, though he turned on me quickly, blade resting against his shoulder.

With expert speed, I put up the face of a horror struck, helpless woman as he advanced on me. With a practiced quiver in my voice, I spoke, "P-Please don't hurt me. I-I only w-wanted to h-help my friend." I raise my arm protectively in front of my face. I always kept armour plates wrapped around my arms, in case of emergencies like this.

Glancing up at my attacker's face, I could tell my act wasn't fooling him. It was fooling everyone else though. Especially Nero, who decided to steal my thunder. Instead of getting to fight back, Nero ran towards us, kicking the man in the face with both feet, sending him flying. In a fluid motion, Nero landed and shot at the white haired man. The man twisted in midair, using his sword to deflect the bullets before he landed. Oh, I so wanted to fight him now.

Nero didn't give him a chance to recover. He charged after the man who was still soaring in the air, aiming to kick him again. The man foresaw this, causing Nero's attack to knock his sword out of his hand and lodge its self into the Sparda statue. In unison, they pulled their guns on each other. Note to self, the white haired man had _two_ guns to keep an eye out for.

"Kyrie, Ember, go with Credo and get out of here," Nero demanded, his gaze never leaving the target in front of him.

Oh, hell no. I was not going to run away like I was stupid and helpless-no offense to Kyrie. I was especially not going to run when I didn't know if I'd ever get to fight someone with the same skill as that man in the red jacket. God knew I needed something to entertain me after all this time.

Credo's hand gruffly grabbed mine as he responded, "I'll come back with reinforcements."

I snorted as pulled my arm free for the third time today, running off in the opposite direction. I slid behind the benches that hadn't been knocked over in haste, hiding behind them as Credo dragged Kyrie off. She struggled torn between Nero facing down the white haired man and me, who was currently curled behind a bench. In the end, she disappeared behind the door with Credo.

"I won't hold my breath," Nero said, as something fell to the ground lightly.

There was a series of bangs, grunts and clangs as I bid my time behind the bench. There was a moment of silence and I dared to peek over the side of the bench. I bit back an exclaim of surprise when I saw the statue's stone sword falling in my direction. What the hell were they doing to cause that? Rushing with all my might, I dived to the side to avoid being crushed.

Once the sword crashed to the ground, there was a click of a gun being reloaded and silence. I glanced up again to catch sight of what was going on only to see the red clad man walking up behind Nero. I opened my mouth to warn him, but my gaze caught the other man's again. He regarded me with a slight smirk before turning his attention back on Nero, who had realized the threat was now behind him.

"This isn't going to cut it," Nero said, more to himself than his opponent as he holstered his gun while kicking a sword that had been lying on the ground. The blade spun in the air as he expertly caught it by the hilt, slamming it down and twisting the handle of the advanced sword causing it to rumble in warning. "What's the point of hacking a sword if you aren't even going to use it?" Nero taunted, staring the man down.

The man regarded him with amusement, resting the tip of his sword on the ground mimicking Nero and twisting the handle, mocking him. I fought back laughter as it bubbled in the back of my throat. Nero wouldn't take that well. It was amusing as hell watching the two provoke each other, trying to get a rise out of their opponent. It almost made me want to continue to be a spectator. Almost. My desire to face the other man in combat was stronger.

Nero attacked the man first, charging, without much forethought. Not that I expected him to have any. It wasn't like him to assess his enemies beforehand. He was more of the "in the heat of the moment" type of guy. And that was where his downfall led in this battle. Within the first few strokes, it was clear to me that the man was strongest in his use of a sword. Much more so than Nero. Not that I would tell him that, I wouldn't wound his pride that much. I was giddy, however. I liked to pride myself on my swordsmanship, with my skill as a marksman in a close second. To be able to compare myself to him, that would be a true gift. And it seemed as though my chance was coming. The man had disarmed Nero mere seconds later and was charging at him for the final blow.

I took my chance. I rushed towards the fighting duo, catching Nero's falling blade as I jumped between Nero and the attacker, just barely managing to stop his attack with the blade. There was a moment of silence that rang out after the clashing of metals in which I was regarded with shock by Nero and amusement by the other. I used the moment of standstill to push the white haired man a safe distance away from Nero and myself. Most likely not anticipating my strength, he was shoved a good few feet and stumbled. He would have fallen had his balance been weaker. Though I would have been greatly disappointed.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to jump in."

I raised my eyebrow, surprised the man broke his silence. "And I was wondering if it would be possible to make you speak." I tilted my head back slightly in Nero's direction while keeping my eyes on the man in front of me. "Beat you on that one, Nero."

"You were supposed to have left with Kyrie and Credo." I could feel Nero's eyes bore into the back of my head.

I rested the sword against my shoulder like I saw Nero do countless times. "You're just mad I stole your thunder."

He sighed irritably, and came to stand up beside me. He held out his left hand, waiting for me to give him the sword. He would be waiting a long time. "I can take it from here."

"Clearly," I rolled my eyes and turned away from him. I looked back at the white hair man who mirrored my position with his sword. My eyes met his, "Besides, I've got some time to kill."

A singular raise of an eye brow was his silent agreement to my challenge.

Nero's hand reached out, anticipating what I was going to do and tried to grab me to stop me. But it was too late. I was in battle mode, and as a result, time began to slow down. Nero's hand moved at a speed that I easily dodged as I ran towards my prey. My muscles almost froze in shock and glee when the man in front of me wasn't affected by the time difference. I sure as hell wasn't making him an exception, so his being unaffected was a sight to behold, for it was a first. His grin snapped my brain back to the task at hand as I raised the blade up in a position to swipe easily at his middle, but he blocked.

Attacking, blocking and dodging went back and forth for a while, but I could feel the effect of controlling time wearing my body down. My breathing was becoming heavier and my muscles dragged. Of course, to many they wouldn't see a difference or change, but to those experienced in the way of combat, it was obvious. The white haired man was one of those people. As much as I hated it, I'd have to end this quickly. I didn't want Nero to butt into my fight when I let time return to normal. So I changed my approach accordingly.

I twisted the blade so the dull end was facing the man as I charged, jumping up to get height. The expression on his face was one of silent laughter as he moved to block my attack. I grinned down at him as he did as I predicted. Our swords clashed. I used my forward, falling momentum to aim myself to land behind the man, twisting my blade under his as I did so. As I landed, I pulled, forcing the blade out of his hand. I caught the hilt as it began to fall and turned on him pointing his blade directly in front of me, while I held mine over my head. With that, my power broke. Time snapped back into its normal speed and I was left struggling to stand up. Damn, I was really out of shape. This was what I got for not practicing in over a year.

Nero's hand fell to his side as he grasped air. A look of confusion flashed across his face-it was sort of cute too…no, never mind, I didn't think that! His hand fell uselessly to his side as he glanced up at where he thought my opponent would be, only to see us standing to his left, both blades in my hands pointing threateningly at the red clad man. His eyes widened almost comically.

The man at the other end of my swords looked anything but worried. With the fight he put up, I wasn't really surprised. No human could keep up with me so easily.

"It seems I underestimated you," The man said, his hands reaching down to his waist where he hid his guns. I moved the blade in my left hand down slightly, warning. He stopped.

"You aren't the first, nor will you be the last," I replied coolly, trying to hide my exhaustion. I threw him his sword. I had no intention of killing him, like Nero had. I wanted a decent fight and I got one.

Beside us Nero approached, face harsh even behind his confusion. "What the hell just happened?"

"We had a party. Sorry you missed it. Yours was kind of dull. No offense," I said, breathing hard as I poked at his pride with a verbal stick-a sharp, verbal stick. Even as I said them, I handed Nero his sword back. "Now, I'll leave you two to your testosterone fight and I'll watch from a safe distance, 'kay?" With a smirk, I walked off towards one of the unaffected benches, and plopped myself down. I would really need to get back into training again. Geez.

Just as I had predicted, the two started fighting again. Really, it was Nero's fault. The other man looked ready to leave but Nero charged. He was probably trying to nurture his wounded pride. I wouldn't blame him really. I'd act the same way if someone I had always thought didn't even know how to hold a sword properly, beat an opponent I was having trouble with. I'd feel like I had no skill at all. That definitely wasn't the case with Nero. He had some natural born talent that was for sure. Just, not as much as the man clad in red. But then again, I supposed that man also had years more training than Nero.

As I sat watching them parry back and forth, I could feel my strength growing, but so was the ache in my back. I wanted nothing more than to ram myself backwards into a wall, to relieve some of the pain. But my rational side knew that would only cause me more pain. So I sat, slumped, as I rested my head on my hand.

Oh, there Nero goes again, losing his sword. Really, does that boy have butter fingers today? Eh, I'm not going to save his butt again. He'd probably only yell at me. Besides, my back _hurts_ damn it. I must have pulled it when I was fighting. What a pain.

In my moment of not paying attention, my back flared hotter than before, and I fell to the floor with a groan. I curled up in a ball, hoping to relieve some of the strain as it felt like my bones were pushing up against my skin, trying to tear through it. My fingers clawed at the marble ground uselessly as I fought back screams. What was happening? Periodic soreness I was used to. 'Specially when I ran into a couple demons, but this?

A strangled cry escaped my lips, as my back arched. Make it stop, make it stop. I could feel sweat begin bead on my forehead.

Time left me. Days could have passed, or even just a few minutes. I couldn't tell. I couldn't hear if the fight around me had stopped or not. They could have destroyed the whole opera hall and I wouldn't have been able to tell, even if I was beneath a pile of rubble and crushed half to death. At some point I think I might've let a scream loose, hell, I might've been screaming right now. That tells you how out of it I was.

"Ember, Ember can you hear me?"

Yes, but don't expect me to respond to you.

I was moved on my back. Do you know how I knew? My back _screamed_. It was as if millions of little knives were being dug into my back, poking at bone and tearing through muscle. My muscles and bones responded by sending their own pain filled screams through my nerves and to my brain. That time, I knew I screamed.

The pressure alleviated and I must have been moved back on my side.

"Must be with your back," Nero muttered to himself, as I felt hesitant fingers glide over my shoulders, working their way down. He gasped suddenly, as did I. I could feel his fingers brush over my shoulder blades and downwards, bringing to light that bone was in fact pushing against my skin, and it was not my spine or shoulder blades. And they were strangely sensitive. It relieved the pain and added to it all at the same time. How annoying that was. Do one or the other please.

"What the hell…?"

_Get him away._

I jerked in surprise. Who the hell was that?

_Get him away._

Who? Get who away? Nero?

_GET HIM AWAY._

With a jolt, my back snapped forward, and the pain ebbed, leaving a mild ache behind. Slowly, I unclenched my hands, and took a deep breath. As I came to my senses, I opened my eyes with caution, and sat up slowly. I felt an arm instantly support my neck. It wasn't the most comfortable form of help, but I could tell he was trying to avoid my back, should it still hurt. When my eyes opened fully, I saw Nero. I could see the worry in his eyes, as we stared at each other. I blinked, unfamiliar with such a look on his face when he was looking at me.

After a moment's pause, he helped me sit up fully, and then using his freed hand to bring his thumb to my cheek. There was an awkward pause before he swept it across my cheek. It was then that I realized my cheeks were wet. I had been crying. I hadn't cried in _years_. I felt my cheeks heat up. And I hadn't blushed since the day before I last cried. It was awkward. Especially since it was Kyrie he was usually giving such looks. I always got the smirks and the glares. It was different. It felt…nice. And completely unnecessary. I was fine. I wasn't a weak little girl who needed her knight in shining armour for everything. Again, no offense to Kyrie. She was a wonderful person and friend.

I stood abruptly, dusting myself off.

Nero frowned, "What are you doing?"

"Standing and preparing to leave, what's it look like?" I snapped back.

At the sound of my harsh tone, Nero's own mask slipped up, the one I was most familiar with. Here we go. This was territory I understood.

"You were…injured. You shouldn't be moving around too much, you'll aggravate the injury."

"Oh, because you're the prime example of this? I've seen you fight when you've almost had some organs sliced out of you and your body beginning to fail due to exhaustion. Yet you fight on. Why the hell shouldn't I be able to stand and leave?" I growled, towering over him angrily. From this angle, a bright blue light managed to catch my eye. Indirectly, I examined it, eyes widening when I saw it was coming from Nero's arm. An arm that was red and scaly. It looked like a demon arm. That would explain so much…

Nero stood, over powering me with his height again as he returned my harsh stare, bringing his right arm behind his body as he did so. "That's because it's my job. I have to fight to protect others from those demons."

My eyes tightened and I crossed my arms, as I returned my gaze to his. "It's because I'm a girl, isn't it?"

"No!"

I scoffed. "'Course not." I glared, "I'm not Kyrie, and I'm not someone who needs to be coddled. So leave me be and let me get on with my business." As if to prove my point, the doors slammed open and reinforcements arrived. "Took them long enough," I muttered. I turned back to Nero, leaning in slightly before I continued on my way. "You might want to pull down your sleeve." With those parting words, I walked away, a fake hysteria in my eyes as I approached Credo and Kyrie.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'd like to thank my three reviewers for reviewing, you guys made my day. :)**

**AngelOfMelody: I'm glad you like it! I hope you like this chapter too :D Thanks for the review!**

**Fuyu Hakumei: I'm happy you enjoy it so far. I hope you like the rest of the story just as much :) Thanks for reviewing!**

**brokenmaelstrom: You'll find out more about Ember soon. :) I'm attempting to hint at it throughout the story before the big reveal. Thanks for reviewing!**

Kyrie pulled me into a bone crushing hug. This was said in comparison to the physical strength she usually shows, not in general. If I was referring to her hug in a general manner, saying that it was light as a feather would probably be appropriate. Not that I would tell her this. I have some compassion for one of the two people I called friends. Well, my opinion of Nero as a friend was constantly on and off, so maybe it was more like a friend and a half.

"Don't ever do that again! I was scared out of my mind for you! I wanted to help but Credo didn't want me to get in any danger. He said Nero would protect you." Kyrie chastised. For such a weak girl, she never really got teary eyed. At least she had that going for her.

"I just hid behind some benches. I didn't get in their way or anything. I just wanted to watch." I reassured her, trying to not make it obvious that I wanted her to stop hugging me as soon as possible. It was awkward, to say the least.

Eventually, she did let me go, holding onto my shoulders as she smiled slightly at me. Her hands slowly fell to her side, her left hand grabbing my right as she dragged me over to a large case. "Help me carry this."

I repressed the urge to snort. Please. I knew it was Nero's sword inside there and I also knew it was not that heavy. Perhaps, after I sorted out my business and decided to stay, I could help Kyrie grow stronger. I smiled at the thought. It would be nice to be able to stay without a real purpose.

I reached out grabbed the handle of the case before she could. I smiled at her, "I got it." Didn't want her to hurt herself until I could help her, now did I?

Kyrie's mouth opened and closed slightly, wanting to argue with me, but thinking better of it when I heaved the case with one arm, the other end dragged almost silently on the ground as I started in Nero's direction. I could hear Kyrie's steps just behind me, her shocked gaze boring into my back. Hearing my approach, Nero glanced up at me as a flicker of interest and confusion passed through his eyes. Heh. I smirked at him, before his gaze lowered to the case in my hands, a nostalgic look was clear in his eyes, mixed with a deepening confusion, most likely at the fact that I was carrying the case by myself without any difficulty. But the confusion quickly washed away when he approached to take his sword from me.

"You guys brought this?" He asked, taking the case from me.

Kyrie stepped up from behind me. "Credo requested. She yearns for your touch."

Nero smiled at her, "Thanks. This is the best blade a swordsman can ask for."

"Oh, don't mind me, I didn't help at all," I piped up sarcastically, waving my hand to attract their attention.

"Then there's no need for us to acknowledge you then," Nero shot back, placing the case on the ground and unlatching the clasps skillfully with one arm, his other dangling uselessly by his side, covered by his sleeve. At least he took my advice. Immediately, he got to work, putting it back together.

My eye twitched, but I opted to bite back my retort. Instead I took the chance to dismiss myself to look for any weapons from the fallen knights, while keeping an ear out on their conversation. I really hoped there was at least some scrap metal that the other knights hadn't cleared out yet. I couldn't stand being defenseless any longer. Not after what just happened a few minutes ago. I had a strange feeling in my gut that shit was about to go down. Oh was I going to be ready for it.

I started with the area of the room that still had bodies on the ground. If they hadn't been cleared out yet, it was likely their possessions were still with or around them. I tried to make my search look indiscrete as possible, keeping my head lowered, and posture slightly slumped, as if mourning the fallen soldiers. My dark hair, the parts not long enough to be tied up in my bun but long enough to cover the majority of my face, hung down like a curtain. This allowed my eyes to sweep the ground without being caught.

"Fortuna castle, huh?" Nero asked. My ears perked as my eyes caught sight of some silver.

"That's what the witnesses said," Credo affirmed.

I bent down and placed my hand against the metal, brushing my fingers along the surface as I willed it to hide from any onlooker's sight. Smiling slightly in success, I picked up the blade and attached it to the belt of my dress. It hung at my hip as I continued my search.

"Guy just came from hell, he's gotta catch a couple tourist sights," Nero remarked.

I smirked at his humor, catching sight of another blade, and what's better, a gun. I smiled triumphantly. Wasn't it my lucky day? I repeated the process with both weapons, before crouching behind one of the benches, laying my weapons down, looking them over. The style of these wouldn't do. They were too bulky and flashy. As much as I didn't have a problem with weight and style, I much preferred something simpler, fast and deadly. Something like two sleek katanas.

"You jest so lightly in a time of crisis?" Credo snapped, none too pleased.

I rolled my eyes. Credo was way too uptight. The guy needed to know when to relax a little. Regardless, I needed to focus on the weapons. They had to be ready for when Nero left, for he wasn't going to be leaving without me. I wrapped each hand around the hilt of each blade. With my head still bowed, I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of the metal, and the form of which the blade was already shaped. Once I was sure I fully understood its composition, I began to focus on the…well I couldn't accurately call it anything else but magic within me. Using the years of experience I had gained with this magic, I imagined how I wanted the blade to be changed, how I wanted it to be improved. For, I did like the motor each was equipped with. I'd hate to destroy brilliant engineering such as that.

I opened my eyes once I felt that the shift was complete. I then focused my attention onto the gun, all thoughts of eavesdropping on the others' conversations wiped from my mind as I focused on successfully transforming the weapons. The gun was well built but simple. With the way the metal was manipulated, it would be hard to weave my magic into the bullets before they were shot. They were built to work much more smoothly with a demon. Huh, that wasn't a good sign for the Order of the Sword. Placing my hand on the gun, I infused it to work only for me, while manipulating the bullets to replace themselves when shot.

Content, I placed the two swords on my back and the gun at my waist. Before I made my way back to the other three, I regarded my outfit with a look of contempt. The skirt had been constricting at best when I was fighting with the white haired man. I didn't want to have to worry about my lack of movement while fighting. My quick and easy solution was to simply tear the skirt. And that was what I did. I tore it just above my knee. Even still, movement was constricted, forcing me to make two tears up each side of my thighs. I was glad that I wore my black leggings today.

"Can't pass on an emergency," I heard Nero say, as he walked up to Kyrie, staring at her in a way that made me feel like an awkward third wheel.

"I'll return and report back to headquarters," Credo announced, hastily making his way out of the building.

Once Credo was gone, I tried to ignore my stuttering heart as I approached Nero and Kyrie. "What's an emergency?" I asked.

"The assassin. I can't let him get too far." Nero said, turning towards me. There was a pause, in which I noticed Nero look me over, observing the changes I made. He simply turned his head away with a huff and a rub of his nose. I grinned in response.

Everything began to suddenly shake, and I was quick to stable my feet to avoid falling, though my head snapped towards the door that led to the courtyard. What the hell was happening out there? The three of us quickly made our way out side, to see what was causing the ruckus.

As we were descending the stairs, Credo was already there, surveying the situation. The three of us joined his side, though Kyrie stood just behind Nero, cowering. I rolled my eyes. Pathetic. I would really have to teach this girl the meaning of strong and independent.

There was a moment of silence, before a terrified male voice yelled out, "Help me!" The man stumbled out from behind the fountain, only to fall to his knees as a scarecrow leaped out from behind him, stabbing him in the back. Kyrie whimpered, hiding her face behind Nero's shoulder. However, I could feel Nero's calculating gaze on my unflinching face. He was no doubt questioning my passive expression. He had be used to me reacting similarly to Kyrie, but I hardly saw the point anymore. I blew my cover in front of him, so there was no point in keeping it up for him. Besides, I only saw it fair. I knew a secret of his, he knew a secret of mine.

The scarecrow promptly grabbed hold of the man, dragging him back behind the fountain, before he was thrown over the top of it, landing in front of us. Chaos ensued. Townsfolk came running in our direction, hysterical as they tried to flee the mass of scarecrows chasing them. They were desperately trying to escape through the archways and to other parts of town to take refuge, all the while, getting cut down.

"Is this his doing?" Nero demanded, his attention turning to Credo.

"I…I don't know." Credo stuttered. When did the man ever stutter?

I watched him with a critical eye. He wasn't saying something. It was clear as day from the point of view of an experienced actor who knew where to spot the flaws in a lie. It was also helpful knowing Credo was usually certain in all the things he said.

Storing it away for later, I stepped forward, which just happened to be in time with Nero. He glanced at me accusingly as he addressed Credo. "Credo, take Kyrie and Ember and get them out of here."

I raised my eyebrow at him. Get out of here? And miss a good fight? I don't think so. I simply laughed at Nero, before running to the right group of demons, leaving the left group for Nero.

"Ember!" I heard two people call my name, one hysterical, the other angry. It was easy to distinguish which were Kyrie and Nero. I ignored them, too pumped up for a fight. The quick match I had with the red clad man had my blood boiling with a thirst for battle that I had long since repressed since arriving in Fortuna. Having weapons in which I felt comfortable with, only added to my giddiness. There was no way anyone was going to stop me now.

I dodged scarecrows until I was hidden by the fountain before I pulled out my katanas, releasing the shield I had on them that was hiding them from view. The blades shone in the sun as they swung gracefully, almost like they were extensions of my arms. I wouldn't have anything less from the blades I wielded. I grinned as the sharp edges cut through the scarecrows' material skin, causing them to combust with dark shadows and green goo. I couldn't help but laugh. It had been too long, _way_ too long.

My ear twitched, my attention being drawn elsewhere when I heard the sounds of a boy crying. Slicing the one scarecrow that tried to use my inattention against me, I searched for the source of the sound. I really hoped he wasn't injured. I'd hate to have to deal with that. I'd probably end up missing my chance to follow Nero after the white haired man.

I caught sight of his chocolate coloured hair, crying over the body of a dead woman. His mother. My muscles froze, as I watched the scene in horror. The boy was motherless. Who knew what happened to his father. My chest tightened as I fought off the feeling of déjà vu and swallowed the lump in my throat. In my moment of hesitation, a small cluster of scarecrows charged at the boy. No. He shouldn't have to die here. He had to find his father, and prove himself. Sheathing one of my blades on my back, I took out my gun, and tried to ignore my shaking hand. I lifted my arm and aimed, the same moment I saw a flash of white and auburn shield the boy. Ignoring the new addition, I focused my aim on the closest demon and shot, focusing my magic into the bullets. I shot rapidly hitting each one. Each scarecrow disappeared with a scream. Take that.

Nero jumped in front of the two as the last demon exploded, sword raised and slightly surprised to see that the threat was gone. His eyes flickered around before landing on me with an accusing glare. I smiled cheekily at him before spinning on my heel to return my attention to the demons I left behind me. I put my gun back and pulled out my second sword.

"Go, get out of here," Nero demanded, most likely to the little boy and his human shield.

"Nero…" Kyrie. The shield was Kyrie. I should have known. Reckless. That girl was stupid and reckless, throwing herself in harm's way when she had no power to change anything by herself that didn't involve dying. No wonder Nero reacted so harshly to try and protect her. …They were both smitten.

I hissed as one of the scarecrow's blades cut my leg. Damn, I needed to focus on the battle, not on some stupid, little, pitiful, pointless romance. There was no need when I finally got to fight again.

I stabbed the next couple demons particularly hard, glaring at them as they fell and disappeared. I ignored the red and blue light from the corner of my eye. Though, I couldn't help but notice that as soon as it started, my back burned again. Damn, it was always Nero that managed to be a thorn in my side…or back if I was going to be literal.

"Hya!" Nero's exclaim was my only forewarning before he came sliding around the fountain, sword revved and protruding from a demon.

"Oi, watch where you're going!" I yelled, stabbing and slicing a demon that tried to sneak up behind me.

"Don't stand it the way!" He shot back. He pulled his sword from the scarecrow, slashing it round at the few others still near him. Together, we ended up easily defeating the last of the scarecrows.

Stepping back slightly, I surveyed the damage. The once clean and proud courtyard was thoroughly smashed. The fountain itself was damaged, the water no longer spraying properly, and there were many leaks. The gardens surrounding the fountain were trodden on and broken.

"Oops." I muttered with a slight smirk. "Eh, just proof of a good party." Content that there were no longer any threats at the present moment, I strapped my swords on my back so they criss-crossed each other.

Slightly in front of me, to my right, Nero was doing the same. "Since when could you fight?" He demanded, watching me approach him. Apparently his patience wore out waiting for me to explain it myself.

My smirk remained on my face, and my hands rested on my head. "Since I could walk. It's a family tradition, you could say." My eyes lowered down to his arm again. Somehow, that must have been causing the red and blue light during the fight. If only I'd bothered to look how it happened. "Why does your arm look demonic?" I countered. It almost seemed unconscious, the way that Nero's immediate instinct was to hide his arm behind his body. I rolled my eyes. "Don't bother hiding it; I've obviously already seen it."

His right fist clenched as he brought back to his side. "…I don't know," was his eventual answer.

"Hm." I had a hard time believing that he truly wasn't conscious of it, but I guess I couldn't blame him for not telling me. I moved beside him, eyes wondering around our surroundings, trying to look for a way out. Nero had collapsed the archways in a moment of pure genius leaving those options to be unavailable. After catching sight of a door, I met Nero's gaze from the corner of my eye. "It seems we both have secrets then, don't we?"

Nero blinked a couple times, taken aback before his eyes lowered to his arm. "You aren't…?"

"No," I snorted. "I'm in no position to be judging. Like I said, we both have our secrets." Dropping my arms from my head, I started off in the direction of our only exit. "Now, I think the best idea would be to get moving. You have an assassin to follow, do you not?"

Snapping out of his funk, Nero was quick to catch up to me.

"So, what can that thing do?" I asked, tapping his right arm lightly. However, I pulled my hand back roughly when a jolt of electricity ran from my first two fingers, seeming to ricochet between them as it slowly travelled up my arm, losing its power as it went. No, you romantic idiots, it was not the tingly feeling that school girls use to describe what it felt like to touch their crush for the first time. First of all, Nero gets on my damn nerves; second, it hurt god damn it.

"You'll have to wait to find out," Nero teased, fingers twitching in response to my touch. It hadn't been one way then. His arm… A human arm wouldn't be affected by my touch. I glanced down at it again, from the corner of my eye. Heh, oh the irony of this situation.

"Heh, it better be worth the wait."

By then we managed to make it to the door, and upon entering, we were faced with a small tower, and a broken stair case. With an irritated sigh, I glared at the stair case. From here it didn't look like it would be too difficult to jump. But really, I thought the Order took better care of the town. To leave even a building like this in such disrepair, they really lost my respect. Not that they had much of it to begin with…

Well, better get cracking…

Beside me, Nero barely gave the broken stair case a second glance. He simply made his way up the stairs, jumping over the gaps. Clearly, I was the only one getting worked up over the problem. With a quick roll of my eyes, I ascended the stairs too, leaping gracefully over the gaps. Having climbed the stairs, we were left with a short hallway that led to what appeared to be a storage room. Geez, it looked like this room hadn't been used in years. Even the random barrels placed in the room seemed to be falling apart, let alone the cabinets.

"What a high class room," I muttered, gazing around, unimpressed.

Nero snorted, before coming to a sudden stop. He raised his arm, cutting me off. I was about to voice my annoyance when my back ached in a way I was familiar with. Reaching behind me, I absently began to rub my back, to ease the ache. It didn't help, but I wasn't too worried. If we got rid of the demons lurking somewhere nearby, I would be fine and dandy once again. I watched the dark matter flow into the dirty, dusty rags that were lying about the room, giving life to once inanimate objects. More scarecrows. Please, this wasn't even a challenge. How annoying.

With a quick glance at Nero, my hand flew to one of my swords. These guys didn't even deserve to have me use both swords. In a swift movement, I spun around and my blade sliced through the air and the demon like butter. In the same movement, I changed the direction of my spin, slicing the second demon that approached me. Content that both threats were gone and trusting that Nero dealt with his, I replaced my blade on my back. Wordlessly, we continued out the door in front of us.

Inhuman screeches and cheers rang out in the air as we walked out onto the building's balcony. I immediately looked over the edge of the balcony, eyebrows rising slightly in surprise at the massive amount of demons congregating and destroying the town. I could only hope the citizens were evacuated quickly enough. But a better question would be…

"How the hell did this many of them get here? I knew this town was always infested, but to have so many in one place at one time…" I muttered.

Nero scoffed, surveying the damage with me. "Bet it's that assassin."

I looked up at Nero. He was so quick to blame that man in red. So quick to believe the words of his superiors… I had to admire his faith in them, but to not even contemplate any other solutions, and trust what was given to him… "I wouldn't be too sure," I said, casting my eyes back to the demons' party below, to avoid Nero's eyes snapping to my face. Besides, to let this many demons loose? That would be one hell of a task to go unnoticed by the Order of the Sword.

He looked at me with such intensity, it was clear that my words offended him. More so than usual. "He shot His Holiness," he ground out, as if that were the clear cut answer to everything.

"But don't you think it's funny, that if it is the man in red's fault, the Order didn't notice anything strange?" I turned my head again, returning his gaze with my own intensity. "Surely they would notice someone summoning such a large number of demons to one location."

The corners of Nero's lips fell as he broke his gaze, scanning the horde of demons again, deep in thought. "You think he's collaborating with the Order?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it's the Order that's behind the sudden infestation. Maybe they planned it all along and just used the man's appearance to the advantage to pass the blame on to him. But I can tell you one thing, I don't trust the Order." I turned my back to the ruckus below, leaning against the balcony's railing. From my point of view, it wasn't hard to distrust the Order. They never had it before I even stepped foot in this place. If my leads were anything to go by. "Perhaps that means my opinions are biased. Who knows? I think the best option right now would be to track down that man in red, get his side of all this."

I pushed off from the railing and started towards the door that would hopefully lead to a way out of town. I barely took a step away from the railing before Nero caught my arm, with his human hand, thank goodness. I turned my head in his direction meeting his gaze, questioningly. I could see many thoughts fly through his eyes, as his mouth opened, though no sound came out. After a moment of silence, his hand tightened around my wrist once, as he closed his mouth before he released me, nodding in agreement. Together we continued to the only exit available to us.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright guys, I would have updated this much sooner, but alas, writer's block will forever be my enemy. It's even worse 'cause I know exactly what I want to have happen and where I want to go, but the words won't come out. In this chapter, Nero was my enigma, so if he's a little out of character, I apologize and I will try to fix it for the next chapter.**

**Also a little heads up, I've finally got a mostly completed story line for this thing, so with that in mind, I hope to get through the events of the game rather swiftly, at least the beginning bit, so this chapter and the next one or two might drag a little, but I promise that you'll get a chapter soon that will be a bomb load of information and the story can get rolling, so hang in with me guys. :D (If I could, I'd much prefer to just skip to that chapter, but I do need to further establish Nero and Ember's relations, so I must be patient as well XD).**

**Thanks to my reviewers, you guys made my day :)**

**AngelOfMelody: Glad that you're enjoying it! Hope this chapter is just as enjoyable for you. :) **

**ShatterTheHeavens: I'm happy you like it, and I hope you enjoy where it's going. :)**

The room we walked into looked as if it could have been a mix between a grand hall of a castle and a prison. A very welcoming prison if I was being truthful, but then again, that could just be the architecture. At the very least, the large windows added life to the otherwise eerie room. I mean, what the hell was this room used for anyway? Down at the front, in a little indented part of the room, there were some chairs facing a large tower that was glowing blue, but along the sides of the room, there were smaller gated rooms. To me, it looked like a room caught in the middle, not fully a prison, yet not a grand room for the rest of the population to congregate in. Perhaps that's why it had such a strange entrance. I almost pitied the half breed room, until I remembered that it was a room, and didn't have feelings.

Having thoroughly scoped out the room, I cautiously began my descent down the grand stair case; the one that took up half of the room. And it was a wonder why nothing productive could be done in here. Really. As I made my way down, Nero at my side, the blue tower at the front of the room caught my eye. I paused for a minute, staring from afar. Even from this distance, the tower seemed to tickle my consciousness the wrong way. Yet I couldn't ignore it too easily. Perhaps upon closer inspection I could figure out what was tickling the inside my mind the wrong way.

I walked with a more determined stride as I started in the direction of the tower. I momentarily ignored Nero's presence in favour of focusing my attentions on that tower. As I was walking through the isle between the two groups of chairs, I could see that the tower wasn't simply a tower. At about arm's height, there was a sizable hole in the tower and half a skull that had an orb the size of my hand residing inside, levitating in the open space. Curious as to how such a thing was possible, I reached out hesitantly, aiming to touch the strange floating object.

My fingers barely brushed the smooth surface of the orb when a sharp burning pain flashed up the entirety of my arm. I pulled back with a yell and a curse, holding my arm to my body. The pain continued to burn strongly in my arm as I glared at the offending demon orb, curses still falling past my lips. I glanced down to my arm, teeth grinding when I noticed that the unidentifiable demonic object had indeed burned off the first few layers of my skin. Son of a bitch, who leaves such a dangerous object floating around unsupervised?

"Ember? What wrong?" Nero called, rushing down to my side, worry beginning to leak into his tone.

I turned my glare on him, angry that the pain had yet to disperse from my arm and that my body was taking its dear sweet time to heal my burns. "That bloody tower burned me!" I yelled, pointing awkwardly at said tower, since I still cradled my injured arm to my chest. The last thing I needed was for Nero to see the wounds and start fretting over them.

Nero held out his hand, "Let me see."

I recoiled from his approach. He did _not_ need to see. Even though I could feel the wound beginning to heal. "It's fine," I snapped. He winced slightly at my reaction before his eyes travelled down to my arm, noticing the half healed burns.

"What did you do? Stick your whole forearm in a fire?" Nero said exasperated, as he tried a second time to reach out to my injured arm. I let him, finding it pointless to hide it now.

"No! That _stupid_ demonic skull burned me! And I barely touched the damn thing!" I raged, wincing as his human fingers brushed and prodded against my tender, healing skin. It felt weird for it to heal while being held in another's grasp.

Nero's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he continued to stare at my arm, watching the skin regrow and replace the burned cells. Less than gently, he turned my arm over, finding the same newly healed skin on the underside of my arm. His eyes lifted up to mine, demanding answers. "How did you do that?"

"What, burn myself? It's not like I did it on purpose," I replied, playing dumb, trying to keep an innocent look in my eye. Nero didn't buy it. Damn, why couldn't he go back to believing my lies like he did before? I sighed, irritated, letting a slightly more truthfully lie slip past my lips. "I don't know. It's just something that happens. Now, can you let go of my arm so we can continue onwards?" I turned to look at the offending demonic object over my shoulder with a little left over resentment towards it. "No matter how much I'd like to smash that thing into a million pieces," I muttered.

Nero glanced over at the orb over my shoulder as well, releasing my arm. He crossed his arms and he continued to stare at the thing. His head tilted to the side slightly, and the corner of his lip twitched upwards. "Looking at it from this distance, I can't see how you let such a nonlethal object get the better of you."

I glared at him and swung my fist in the direction of his gut in retaliation. Unfortunately for me, he caught my fist with his left hand, making my attack ineffective. "Yeah? Why don't you try and grab it then?" I challenged, scowling. I didn't understand why I set myself up for a failure on that one. Maybe it was my too big ego that didn't want to easily brush off the jab. Regardless, Nero accepted my challenge with ease. He let go of my hand, subtly maneuvering around me to avoid a second attack if necessary (though it was completely unnecessary. My anger had mostly dissipated by now.) He stepped up to the blue tower with confidence, extending his right hand to grab the half skull. I watched as his hand wrapped around the blue orb, and pulled the skull from its hole in the tower.

Nero turned to face me, waving the orb tauntingly. "You were saying?"

I huffed, arms crossed, head turned to the side. "Clearly it likes you…" I trailed off as the tower stopped spinning and the light began to die. "Yeah maybe you should put it ba-" I didn't get a chance to even finish the thought before the orb disappeared with a flash of light, and I could just barely make out the orb disappearing _into_ Nero's arm. Almost immediately after the orb disappeared, Nero's arm lashed out in a bright blue light. The arm extended as a second ethereal arm into the open space. I stared, half amazed, half worried about the potential effects absorbing the demonic item could pose. Regardless, I forced a smile on my face, "Damn. Looks like that thing can pack one hell of a punch. I suppose it was worth the wait."

Nero grinned down at his arm, then glanced up into the open space where his arm had extended. He seemed to catch sight of something above our heads. Curious, I turned slightly, tilting my head back trying to follow his gaze. I soon caught sight of a door.

"There's our first class ticket outta here," he said, his left hand sneaking in my direction. I didn't take a particular interest, until his arm snuck around my waist. I spun to the side, arms held protectively in front of me and stared at his arm accusingly.

"_What_ are you doing?" I demanded.

"Bringing you with me. Would you prefer I go first and snatch you from up there?"

My mouth twisted down in distaste. No, that would be more unfavourable, and painful no doubt. If a single tap to his arm caused me so much pain, I was loathe to think of what it would feel like to be grabbed by his arm for multiple, consecutive seconds. "Right," stepping towards him again, I crossed my arms. "But if you drop me, I will hunt you down…"

"You really think I would drop you on purpose?"

"On purpose or not, I will hunt you down. That I promise."

Nero rolled his eyes in response, wrapping his arm around my waist again. I fought not to wiggle, feeling uncomfortable and awkward in the situation. He simply tightened his arm in repose, to make sure I wouldn't slip free with all my wiggling and extended his arm out towards the door. He latched on to the railing in front of it and pulled us towards it. Despite my complaining, I actually fully enjoyed the sensation of flying through the air. It helped that I didn't have to worry about falling, like in most situations; I did trust Nero, even if I might say otherwise.

I was half relieved, half disappointed when our feet hit the ground. But I didn't leave myself any time to feel bad about it. I immediately disentangled myself from Nero's arm, shivering slightly as his arm lingered around my waist, his fingers brushing across my hip before falling to his side. I raised an eyebrow at him, glancing at him suspiciously from the corner of my eye, but Nero was focused ahead, starting towards the door, seemingly unaware of his actions. I rolled my eyes and followed him through the door.

We were led onto another balcony, looking out to another street wrecked by the demons when they had been set loose. Nero was a few steps ahead, at the other end of the balcony, which just so happened to be a dead end as well. He was looking out ahead, assessing what was in front of him.

I walked up beside him, so I could see what he was seeing, and try and figure out a way to get across. "I don't think jumping down into that mess would be wise." I piped up, watching the demons below with apprehension and anticipation. Even though I would have loved to jump down there and tear the hopeless beings apart, I knew it would be illogical; I was greatly outnumbered and it would take too long.

"I could get us across to the terrace over there. I think that door may get us out of town." Nero said, pointing over to the terrace that seemed to have a little pond in it. What exactly was the purpose of that?

I sighed dramatically, lifting my arms so he'd be able to wrap his arm around my waist easier. He did so, extending his right arm out latching on to the railing ahead. We flew through the air, effectively landing at our planned destination. However, the landing was anything but graceful. When we landed, Nero managed to get his feet on solid ground. I, however, landed right on the lip of the little pond. The forwards momentum I had left over from the jump worked against me and I went flying into the water. I searched for Nero's arm to stabilize myself, or at the very least drag him down with me. The only thing he did was let go of my waist to avoid getting wet himself.

I glared at him once I sat up, one eyebrow raised. "You promised not to let me fall," I accused. My eyes narrowed further when I saw him repressing a smirk. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, offering his left hand to help me out of the water. I took it, and instead of letting him help me stand up, I pulled him down with me. I grinned when he made a satisfying splash, and pushed myself out of the water. He sat up abruptly, shaking his wet hair like a dog. "Now we're even."

Quite happy with myself, I stood, looking over my drenched state with an air of distaste. However, it wasn't like I could magically dry myself off, so I was left to suffer until my clothes dried. At the very least, I wasn't going to suffer alone. I stepped out of the pond, and turned to Nero expectantly, waiting for him to climb out too. When I turned, I found him staring at me. I blinked, once, twice, three times. What the hell was with that calculating look on his face?

Placing my hands on my hips, I teased, "Are you going to sit there all day, or are we going to get going? I was under the impression we were after the man in red?"

Nero stood, brushing himself off to the best of his abilities. "I wasn't the one with the lack of balance," he shot back.

"Maybe if you aimed straight I wouldn't have had the possibility of lose my balance." Resting my hands on my head, I started towards the next door. I knew if I didn't start moving, we'd end up standing there for hours going back and forth and this time we didn't have Kyrie to break us up. "I think you need more practice."

Nero stood and was by my side by the time I reached the door. Upon opening it, Nero's hand snapped forwards, and gripped my upper arm, stopping me from proceeding any further. My skin burned uncomfortably underneath his grip, sending small shockwaves up my arm causing my muscles to spasm. I turned my head and saw that he had grabbed me with his right arm, with only my dress' sleeve acting as a barrier between our skin. As the seconds drew on, I was glad for the thin fabric. It made the touch somewhat endurable. Though I still tried to shimmy myself out of his grip.

"What was that for?" I demanded.

"You were going to fall a good few stories. I don't think you'd like having your neck broken." Nero replied, letting go of my arm.

Biting back from making a snarky come back, I looked down to see that we were indeed on an open landing multiple stories above the ground. What was wrong with the people who created this town? Why the hell would you have a balcony that only leads to a drop that would kill or seriously injure any human that would come across it? On second thought, how would _any_ human come across this? As far as I was aware, the door we just entered through was the only one connected to this balcony.

Regardless, I wasn't nearly as breakable as a normal human, so a simple leap should suffice in getting down there. It seemed we had finally reached an alley of the town, allowing us to navigate out of town easier. With a quick glance up to Nero and a challenging smirk, I jumped off the edge, spun once in the air and landed nimbly on the ground in a crouch, one hand on the ground to stable myself. I stood and turned to Nero, a hand on my hip, imitating impatience.

He seemed to compose himself over the suddenness of my fall and smirked, accepting my silent challenge. He followed quickly, jumping off the ledge, spinning twice.

"Show off," I muttered as he landed in a standing position next to me.

"Today isn't your day is it?" He jabbed, as we started through the alley out of town.

"Says the one that lost their spar," I countered. "If I recall correctly, I managed to disarm the man in red without resorting to a demonic arm."

The corner of Nero's mouth twitched down, "I happen to recall that you didn't necessarily play fair either."

We paused as the sound of screeches reached our ears with the sight of a group of scarecrows following after.

"Why don't we see whose skill is better?" I challenged. "I bet I can take down more of these guys than you can." I unsheathed my swords in anticipation, wasting no time jumping into the group of them.

"You're on!" Nero yelled over the demons' screeching, jumping in behind me, Red Queen in hand.

"20." I declared proudly placing my swords on my back once again. We had fought our way through the back alley of town and through a short tunnel only to be faced with a path way leading out to the sea.

"21," Nero said with a smirk, Red Queen also finding her way back on Nero's back as we continued out of town and to the docks.

I scowled and my eye twitched. "You only got that last one 'cause you could grab it with that arm of yours. That's what I was talking about before, you cheater. And besides, I'm out of practice." In my irritation, I stalked ahead of him, starting towards the docks that were in our line of sight.

"It's not my fault I used all the resources I had. Perhaps you should have done the same."

I seethed, my irritation leaking into my tone. "My resources take much more of my energy then simply extending my arm, thank you very much. I declare a rematch and next time you can't use your arm."

"I don't need my arm to beat you," Nero responded cockily, grinning down at me.

"I'll make you eat those words, I promise. Or have you never heard the saying never cross a woman scorned?"

Nero chuckled, a smirk still pulling at the corners of his lips. "If you say so."

By that time, we had reached the docks and the bridge that would have led us to the mines. However, the bridge had been put up, making further progress impossible.

I glared up at the drawn bridge as if its position personally offended me. I turned my head to Nero, who was already looking across the dock and to the building on the other side. Patting Nero's shoulder, I smiled, "Good plan. You draw the bridge, and I'll hold the fort over here."

"You too tired from the fight?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you admitting that you need help to do something as simple as lower the bridge?" Truthfully, I saw the size of the gap from the first dock to the other that would lead to the control room and I really didn't want to have him fly us over there. It was awkward enough when it was necessary. I didn't want to do that more than I had to.

"Don't over exert yourself while I'm gone," Nero replied, heading in the direction of the control room door.

When he disappeared behind the door, I moved closer to the bridge and the overhanging cage with the control panel. Upon moving closer, my back burned and scarecrows began to take shape by the dozen. Of course, I couldn't simply wait in peace for Nero. No, the demons had to take advantage of my lonesome, out of shape state. Was it so bad to just take a little rest? I already knew I was going to be achy in the morning.

With a short, curt sigh, I unsheathed my blades from behind my back and held them in front of me, threateningly. You know, if I was a scarecrow, faced with a foe that was clearly stronger than me, I wouldn't feel too much shame in running. But I guess that's what they seemed to lack; the fight or flight instinct, being left with only one thought, fight. And if they weren't fighting, they were destroying something or another. But who was I to be complaining? It just made my job easier. I didn't waste much more time, lost in my thoughts. I took the advantage of the situation and charged head first into the hoard, slicing through the group of them with ease. And to think I could have missed all this fun if I went with Nero, or worse, had to share it with him.

By the time I had cut the group of scarecrows to about half their original size, Nero appeared above me in the little cage with the bridge's control panel. He leaned against the wire mesh, watching me as I leaped backwards behind the scarecrow, beheading it as I went with my right hand and stabbing the one behind me with my left. I turned to face him, lashing out at the closest scarecrow beside me before bowing, my one arm wrapping around my middle, the other-that had lashed out at the scarecrow-remained bent behind my back. Lifting my eyes to Nero, I couldn't help but taunt, "Shall I come to your rescue Milady?"

Nero's eyes narrowed, but he still managed to smirk challengingly, "I'd like to see you try." He pushed himself away from the grating and walked over to the panel, focused on trying to lower the bridge.

I too returned to an upright position as the remaining scarecrows continued to circle around me, trying to gang up on me. But I wasn't going to have any of it. Wasn't it clear that that tactic wouldn't work on me when I had two swords? Double to area to cover? Alas, I reverted back to my previous statement, the scarecrows were idiots.

A loud bang soon rang out through the docks, with a quiet curse. I spared a quick glance up in Nero's direction with a raised eyebrow. He was in the motion of replacing his revolver and walking away from the burning control panel. "Did a piece of metal get the best of you Nero?" The panel exploded not soon after the words left my lips, and through the smoke, I could just make out a green light. Well, I'll be damned.

"Nope," Was his quick reply.

"Then get back down here quickly, I'm doing all the hard work down here." I slashed through one of the last scarecrows as I waited for Nero to return.

Conveniently, by the time Nero returned, I had managed to get rid of the last of the scarecrows. I was replacing my swords on my back when he waltzed up to meet me. He wordlessly walked passed me. I followed behind just as silently.

We crossed the now lowered bridge, and passed the large metal door. Upon walking through the door, we were faced with a stone tunnel, from an abandoned mine. Passing through it quickly, we were brought into a room that was taller than it was wide, and fairly dark. There were a few lamps that had yet to burn out, causing more shadows than they cleared, but I supposed it was better than nothing. However, our problem with the room was with its height. I could just barely make out the silhouette of another tunnel, a good few stories higher than where we stood. Clearly any ladder that had been installed had been taken away (what a smart move) or had been broken. Either way, someone wasn't keen on having others pass through this way. The corner of my mouth twitched downwards as I looked in Nero's direction. "Can you get us up there?"

Nero inspected the height and the surrounding ledge of the next level of the cave. After a moment he nodded, "It shouldn't be too much of a stretch."

With a curt nod, I stepped closer once again and raised my arms slightly so he could wrap his arm around my waist. We efficiently made our way to our desired destination. The doors we opened left us at the foot of some cobblestone steps. We scaled them easily enough and stood at the end of a rather short dirt street. On either side of the street were old wooden shacks. I doubted there was even one that was in any sort of livable condition. I was pretty sure that any one of them were ready to fall right at that moment.

Nero, having checked out the new territory sufficiently, began to walk down the street. I, however, hesitated. There was something about the area, whether it was simply the aura, or something in the air; it made my back feel irritated. Not nearly as painful or potent when there was the immediate threat of demons, but it was still annoying; a warning.

I stepped forwards with caution, noticing that Nero had paused in his advance as well, staring ahead. "Nero, keep an eye out, something isn't…"

I didn't get to finish my sentence before an orange light enveloped the mini town. Looking up, my eyes widened slightly at the sight of a large rectangular tower erected to the side, in front of the town, glowing a harsh orange at the center. I rushed to stand by Nero's side as the wall of the tower began to protrude outwards. Then suddenly in a blast of flame, a large…no huge dragon, human…rhino (?) creature landed before us with enough force to shake the ground. In consequence to his flames, the surrounding shacks caught fire. And just like the shacks, my back burned.

"Ah, the human world," the demon growled, his bass like voice vibrating through the air. "It's been a while."

I rolled my shoulders uncomfortably as I watched the creature approach us, while Nero fanned himself beside me. I rolled my eyes, so dramatic. With each step the demon took, the ground shook and it took me a moment to get used to stabilizing myself on the shaking ground. Once stabled, I noticed that Nero had walked ahead of me, and completely passed the demon. Don't tell me he couldn't see it. The boy would have to be blind to miss something that large.

He stopped, sword drawn and resting lightly on the ground, behind the flaming demon when I caught onto his train of thought. However, before he got the chance, the demon stopped. He didn't turn around, but he held his head high in the air, twisting from left to right as if he was sniffing the air. "This stench…I haven't come across it in two thousand years."

I paused, standing almost frozen just beside the demon. What the hell was he talking about?

The demon's head turned in my direction slightly, and sniffed. He paused and turned his head further, allowing me to be within his sights. His eyes looked on me and he growled. "You smell like the bastard Kahlon."

I crossed my arms and glared. "Could you not bad mouth my father in front of me please?" My fingers twitched, itching to grab hold of my weapons.

The flaming demon sneered down at me. "If he managed to make an atrocity such as you, he must have fallen pretty far."

This time, I did go for my swords. "I dare you to insult him, one more time."

"You cannot kill me. Kahlon couldn't all those years ago; I doubt his spawn could do much better, tainted as you are."

A large woosh of wind interrupted our stare down, causing all the fire on the surrounding houses to go out. The action caused the demon's attention to move from me to Nero with a glare. Nero turned to face the demon, casting a quick glance at me, as if to check that the demon hadn't gotten to me before quipping, "You know, fire's bad for my complexion. I burn easily never tan. The last thing I want is to burn while you two try each other's wits."

The demon bent his head as he inspected Nero, having seemed to temporarily forget my presence. "How curious, I've never seen a human with such power in two thousand years…"

"Do you want to make it another two thousand?"

"'Cause if you ask me, you keep saying two thousand like it's a good thing," I added. "Doesn't that make you old, wrinkly and weak?"

"Why you…!" The demon exclaimed, a little lost on who he should attack first. He opted for Nero, since he was already facing his direction. He thrust his sword forwards, aiming for Nero but he countered easily, his own sword extending outward, meeting it point for point to halt the attack. There was a moment where they both paused, the demon more so in shock I believe, for seeing a "human" stop and counter his attack with ease. The moment was broken when Nero shoved back, sending the demon's arm flying back.

"You pests!" He snarled. "You will now suffer the wrath of Berial, the King of the Fire Hell."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that all? That hardly seems intimidating. You know, if there were a few less flames, I might even go as far to say that you could be a teddy bear. A deformed, monstrous dragon like teddy bear." Berial roared wordlessly as he turned his body to be able to attack me with his over large sword. I dodged easily with taunting grin. "Besides, why do you need such a large sword? Trying to compensate for something?"

Berial's roar grew louder and the fire around him grew in concentration before exploding around him in a circle. Nero and I just managed to jump to the side out of the way. Having dodged the initial attack, we both went in for our own offensive. I tried to keep my attacks weak and defensive, in favour of learning Berial's fighting habits. I let Nero do his thing and keep a strong offensive, which in turn helped me identify Berial's weaknesses. After some time of attacking from the side I noticed that Berial was keeping an unnatural amount of guard near his front. Perhaps…?

I ran to Nero's side, dancing behind him as I whispered, "Use your arm and aim near his head. The back will probably be the weakest. I'll cover." I quickly moved passed him again and strengthened my attacks in hope of drawing Berial's attentions onto me. It worked, until Nero was behind him, slashing away at his armoured head. Though I suppose it would make sense that Berial would want to attack the one doing the most damage to him. He'd just be plain dense otherwise. Not that he seems to have much going for him though. Nero did get a few good hits in before he had to jump away to avoid being hit, and for getting those hits in, the amount of fire surrounding Berial seemed to decrease. Isn't that handy? I didn't have to worry about being burned as badly now.

Despite the fact that his flames were gone, he was still lethal with that overly large sword of his. But without the danger of the flame, it was much easier to dodge. I kept a steady attack on Berial's body, leaving him open for Nero to attack again. However, instead of going for the head again, he used his right arm to lift the demon into the air and then knock him forwards into the ground. A little shocked by the approach, I took it in stride when I noticed how much weaker Berial now was. I suppose I would have to keep to being the role of being the distraction this time.

After being knocked around quite harshly, Berial worked on renewing his flames. The large burst of power sent a jolt of pain up my spine. Oh the rest of the fight was going to be so much fun if we had to repeat this process many times. And that's what we ended up doing. I was just about to land the killing blow when Berial retreated.

"That arm is not human." Berial accused, staring at Nero's arm accusingly.

"What was your first clue?" I retorted, "The fact that it was red and scaly or the fact that it glows blue. Please don't tell me it actually took being smacked around by the arm to figure it out."

"Don't talk down to me, you rotten abomination." Berial spat, before glancing over to Nero again. "And you're just like 'he' was."

"Oh joy, more beating around the bush," I muttered as Nero asked, "Just like who?"

Berial ignored him. "I must restore my powers."

"Who's weaker than who now?" I yelled at him as he disappeared in a flash of fire, the rectangular tower losing its orange glow. I seethed at the tower as the light died, along with the pain in my back, leaving only the mild tickle I started out with since arriving in this little deserted town.

Nero approached me, placing his sword on his back, "We better keep moving."

"Right beside you. Lead the way," I said, with one final offended look at that rectangular tower.

**There you go, the next chapter. While writing this, I never meant for Berial to be so chatty, but I think this works better. He was always so…scripted in the game, at least compared to the other bosses. To me anyway. **

**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed, even after the wait. Feel free to review, they make my day and encourage me to write, and plow through my writer's block. Even though I know other authors say that, it's very true :)**


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